I’ve been working on a series of blog posts about the
meaning behind the labels you find on meat packages. Previously, I’ve written
posts about the meaning behind the Organic
and Natural labels and I’ve talked about how those two terms can be confused
with each other and with Grass-fed labeling.
Hawaii Big Island Beef was popular in Hawaii. It is all grass fed. |
To use the Grass-fed label on a beef package, the USDA
requires that the cattle were…
·
Only
allowed to eat grass or hay for their entire lives
·
Never
given grain or grain byproducts
·
Allowed
access to pasture during the growing season
That basically means that, in the summer time, they were
turned out on pasture and ate grass and in the winter time, they were fed hay
because the grass wasn’t growing. They are never fed grain (corn, rice, barley,
oats etc…).
You may be asking yourself, “So, what does that mean about the beef that is not labeled Grass-fed?”
That’s one of the things that makes this particular label
confusing. Some people may think that beef that is not labeled as grass-fed
come from cattle that never see a pasture. That’s not really true at all.
In the US, all cattle
are grass-fed.
Grass-fed cattle. |
Cattle are ruminants. Their bodies are able to digest grass
and convert it into energy that they can use to grow, fatten, make milk, or
raise calves. Their digestive systems are much more diverse than ours. We can’t
metabolize grass, but cattle can. That’s part of what makes cows so awesome!
Vallie and some of our cows.I think she was demonstrating gymnastics to them |
Calves are born and live with their mother’s for 5 to 7 months.
They may be fed some grain to supplement them, but for the most part, they
drink their mother’s milk and eat grass. Their mothers will eat mostly grass,
too. Once they are old enough to be weaned (teenagers), they are usually sent
to a stocker farm to grow for a few more months. How much grain vs. grass they
get at this step depends on the time of year and the weather. If there is grass
growing, they will get to eat it. If not, they will eat a combination of hay
and grain.
For the final few
months of their lives, cattle that comprise most of the beef in the US, will be
fed a greater percentage of grain in a feedlot. In the cattle industry, we call
the high-energy ingredients used in these diets concentrates because the energy
is more concentrated; whereas, grass and hay are called roughages. The high-concentrate
(grain) diet allows them to gain weight more efficiently and gives the beef the
flavor and tenderness we expect in the US. Even then, they have to get fiber
(roughages), too. So, they get hay, silage (fermented hay) and other forms of
roughage. It would be unhealthy for the calves if they only ate corn. Their
diet is closely controlled by nutritionists.
One of my favorite blogs is written by Anne Burkholder, a
mom, feedlot operator, Feedyard
Foodie. She writes about daily life in a feedlot in Nebraska and her kids
and beef and life in general.
Personally, I prefer the flavor of beef from cattle that
have been grain-finished (fed grain
for the last few months before harvest). Some people prefer the flavor of beef
from grass-finished cattle (fed exclusively grass and hay). The great thing is
that we have the choice.
Sometimes, labeling claims like organic
and natural
are confused with grass-fed, but those labeling claims have different meanings
that I covered in previous posts. Most
of the time, grass-fed labels are accompanied by claims about being raisedwithout hormones or raised without antibiotics, but those labels have different
meaning and will be coming up soon in my labeling blog series.
good afternoon ma, i read your article on conversion of muscle to meat. i am enlightened and I really appreciate your contribution to knowledge and science. but I will like to further as if you can explain to me the difference between rigor Mortis and muscle to meat conversion or are they the same? thanks you
ReplyDeleteThat's a good question. Rigor mortis is part of the conversion of muscle to meat. Rigor is more specifically the stiffening that occurs after death. The conversion of muscle to meat involves the stiffening, the pH decline, and temperature change. Changes in flavor and texture also occur. I hope that helps. :)
Deleteyes😊! thank you.
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